Mislaid Memories
by MEStarr
Summary: AU Veronica lives in England with her Aunt when she has to move to live with her cousins in Neptune, CA. But just when she is welcomed into the 09er inner circle with warm arms; the new boy arrives. Awful Summary; don't judge XLoVeXMaDiX
1. Chapter 1

**VM again CHAPTER ONE**

Jemma was waiting for me when I got home. She was sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea in front of her. I knew something was up straight away so I just stood in the doorway and waited; watching her expectantly.

"Good night?" she asked, forcing a small smile.

"Yeah…what's going on?" I asked, cutting to the chase.

She let out a sigh and took a drink of her tea before starting, "I got a job offer the other day. I've been thinking it all the time. It's a really good one; amazing pay, brilliant hours. It's the job I've been waiting for."

"That's good…that's really good!" I didn't understand why she looked so worried about it.

"Yeah…but there's one thing; and that will affect both of us a lot. More so you." She told me, I waited in silence, dread creeping up on me. "The problem is…it's in New Zealand." I froze in absolute shock. _New Zealand!_ That was on the other side of the _planet!_

"New Zealand?" I choked quietly.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Are you gonna take it?" The dreaded question.

She looked at me sadly, clearly uncertain about telling me, "It's a really good job Ronnie! We could get a big house; you could get your own car. I know you can already drive but legally. I've been waiting for this promotion for _so, so _long!"

"So you're going to take it." I concluded impassively. She nodded silently, trying to read my face, "You're going to make me move to the other side of the world. Whether I want to or not." She opened her mouth to speak but I cut her off, "That's not fair Jemma; it really isn't."

"There's another option. But I don't think you'll like that much more." I waited and she eventually continued, "My sister, your aunt, Rosie. I've already discussed all this with her. Um… if you don't want to come with me; you can go and live with her."

I frowned, I hadn't seen Aunt Rosie for at least five years, "But doesn't she live in-"

"America. Yes." There was an awkward silence before she spoke again, "I suppose that's closer than New Zealand."

"Can't I just stay here? I can get a flat and a job! Or I could live with a friend!" I protested half-heartedly; I knew it was hopeless.

"No, I'm sorry Ronnie; it has to be one of the two."

"But you can't!" I retorted, my voice rising, "You can't just make me leave! Everything's here! You can't just drag me away from all my friends, my home…" I hesitated before saying the next, "_Stefan_ is here." Her face fell and she looked at me with pity in her eyes; I hated that and looked away. "You can't take me away from him. He was my best friend; we grew up here."

She drew in a shaky breath, "I know; and I feel awful for doing this. But once you turn 18 you're a legal adult! You can come back if you want to."

"But you'll sell the house! This house! And the people who buy it will change it!" I was shouting now, tears in my eyes at the thought of leaving and never coming back.

"I know this is hard to take in and I know how much you love this place. But we can't stay forever." She told me, after a second of silence she added softly, "Stefan will always be with you; no matter where you are. You know that."

A tear slipped down my cheek and I stared down at the ground. My best friends face in my mind's eye; his bright green eyes with their bright shine, his huge grin and floppy brown hair. He looked happy; we were always happy. "I'm…I'm going upstairs." I muttered before leaving the room hastily.


	2. Chapter 2

**VM again CHAPTER TWO**

I hated planes; long journeys especially. They always made me feel sick and dizzy. There were too many risks on them; they were just accidents waiting to happen. People always said that the chance of them going down was one in a million, or one in 1300 if you happen to be in China (a/n: ). The first time I'd been on one there was literally epic turbulence. The second, I watched 'Snakes on the Plane', the third I watched 'Air Force One'. My own stupidity but it still didn't help. Also, my dad died on a plane. He was a PI; a good one. He'd gone to arrest this guy who was a pedophile and had blown up a bus load of kids. They had to get a plane back; it only had six people on it; my dad, a pilot, two cops, a paramedic and of course the criminal called Woody Goodman. The plane got blown up. I'd been only five at the time so I hardly remembered him; but the loss hurt every day.

Jemma had said good bye at Heathrow; it was brief, I was still incredibly annoyed with her. I knew I was being selfish but in a matter of days she had managed to take away everything I loved from me. Deep down I felt so guilty for choosing to go to America, but I'd see her again soon.

There was a change over at New York and, of course, the plane was delayed. I bought a crappy book and sat there for two long hours, waiting for the plane. I arrived in California six hours later feeling tired and frustrated. Aunt Rosie was waiting at the airport for me, she looked incredibly excited and the minute she saw me she pulled me into a suffocating hug. She was a bit taller than me, with light blonde hair and chestnut coloured eyes. I remembered always thinking how pretty she was in photographs. She looked different from when I last saw her though, she didn't look much older, but she had gotten laughter lines creasing her otherwise smooth skin.

"Hey Rosie." I smiled, stepping away slightly after the long hug, "How are you?"

"I'm wonderful! What about you? Jem said you've been really upset. I totally understand how you feel about leaving though; I did the same." She said concern in her voice. She had such a strong Californian accent from her long years here; I wondered if I'd get one too.

"Yeah, I'm alright. This is just so surreal! I'm sure I'll enjoy being here but I wish I could stay at home…no offense."

"It's fine hun! I'm always here if you need to talk." She smiled widely and I couldn't help but smile back. Straight away I knew I'd like her, she might even make this all a bit easier. We began walking through the crowd and out to the car park, me wheeling the luggage trolley laden with my many bags. The bigger things that I couldn't leave behind were being sent over later.

Rosie's car was a big black Range Rover with the back windows tinted, cream leather seats and TV's in the back. It was a proper rich person car; I knew that Rosie was rich but not how rich. Her husband, Antonio, had been a big business man before he'd died five years ago, just after Tamsin was born in fact. He was from Mexican origin and he and Rosie had met when she went on holiday down there a long time ago.

I'd been to Neptune a couple of times before but only when I was really young. I stayed for two months each time and spent the whole time with Tyler and his friends; the PCHer's as they were called. They were all like brothers to me. I'd never actually talked to anyone here outside the gang, but that's only what I can remember.

It took twenty minutes to get back to the house, it was massive. There was a long gravel drive, tall iron gates and even CCTV cameras. Since Tyler didn't have a car and Tamsin and Jamal, my other two cousins, were way too young; they only had one car. I knew that with my excessive bank account I could buy my own. Since my dad had died, all his money had gone to me, my mum had given me loads before she left and Jemma was putting in a monthly amount. I guessed I could afford a black AmEx card with the amount in there.

"Nice house." I smiled as we got out the car. I remembered it vaguely.

"Thanks, it is. Jemma told me earlier that you liked having some privacy so if you want, you could have the pool house as your room; it's basically a little flat but you have to spend time with us!" she smiled and I laughed.

"That would be nice, thank you."

We set about putting my things in the house, leaving them to crowd up the huge hall. "So where are the others?" I asked, putting down the last case.

"Jamal and Tamsin are at a birthday party round the block and Tyler's out with his friends till later." She explained and I nodded, that would give me some time to settle in then. I was kind of shocked to find that they even had three maids here who all curtseyed to me! Weird…I didn't quite know what to do. They were called Leona, Mariana and Emilia and they immediately set about helping take my stuff to my new room.

There was a pool! A proper, deep, blue swimming pool! The pool house was beside it, with full length windows covering the side looking at the pool and the L-shape house. These windows had thin white curtains covering them so you couldn't see in unless you opened them. It was a lovely room though; cream carpets and white wash walls. The huge queen-size plush bed had a lovely intricately carved white wooden headboard and footboard. There was a vanity table in the corner, a huge plasma TV opposite the bed, a heavenly looking white sofa, a little white wooden desk and a vast built in wardrobe where the half open doors slid to the side; otherwise it just looked like a wall. There were two doors off it; one led to an en-suite, the other led into what looked like a little basic kitchen.

"Wow." I breathed, staring in awe at the room. "This is amazing!"

"I'm glad you like it. And it's yours now so you can do whatever you want to It." she told me proudly.

I laughed, slightly in shock at how lovely all this was, "Well what can I change! It's perfect. Thank you." I smiled, giving her a quick hug and she laughed.

"I'll give you a while to unpack and settle in. I'll come and get you when the kids are back…but they might just come and get you. They're very excited." I nodded with a smile and she left. Letting out a long sigh, I sank down onto the bed…wow. I was so not getting up in the morning. I began to unpack and, slowly but surely, the wardrobe filled up with my huge amount of clothes. Then I started unpacking little things on the desk or cushions and stuff on the sofa. By the end it all looked much more homey; right down to the old, tatty teddy bear on my bed. Stefan had given me that on my fifth birthday and I loved it so much.

Finally, after two long hours of sorting everything out, I sat in the middle of the bed cross-legged, and opened up my white apple macbook. On the way over I'd had a totally idiotic thought that facebook wouldn't work here…that just shows how dumb I am! I spent a while talking to my friends and listening to 'Mumford and Sons' on YouTube (favourite band ).

"Vewonicaaaaaa!" a voice screamed and I looked up just in time to see Tamsin and Jamal launch themselves at me. I laughed and gave them each a hug.

"Heyy you two!" they sat up grinning at me. Tamsin, or Tammy as we called her, was a tiny and pixie like five years old. She had short black/brown hair in a curly bob framing her childlike face. I was small myself and she came up to my waist. Jamal was taller, up to my elbows and he was only seven. He had the same colour hair as his sister but it was shorter. "How are you?"

"Bwiliant." Tammy said with a toothy grin, I laughed at her glee.

"Good. How was your party?"

"It was fun! We went swimming in their pool! And they had a water slide and everything! It was sooo cool!" Jamal told me excitedly.

"Woow! Sounds amazing! Let's go down and find you mum." I told them, standing up beside the bed.

Tammy began to jump up and down, looking even more excited, "Piggy back!" she squealed and I let out a mock exasperated sigh.

"Okay then." She jumped and clang onto my back; her arms tight around my neck, I laughed and started to the door, "C'mon Mal!" I called and he ran ahead of us. These kids had always been mental.

It was apparently 7 o'clock here now though it was still broad daylight and hot outside. It felt like morning to me; I hated jetlag…but I'd hate it more in the morning no doubt. Rosie was in the kitchen making them some dinner. Yeah they had maids and an au pair, but Jemma had always told me the Rosie liked to take care of her kids herself; as far as that was possible. I'd meet the au pair tomorrow, she was called Lena and she was Greek; that's all I knew.

"Hey, Tyler's on his way back now. We'll have dinner later; these two need to sleep! Their school starts in two days; they need to get back into the routine." She told me.

Ten minutes later, while Tamsin and Jamal were starting their dinner, Tyler walked in. he had a huge grin on his face as he saw me and walked over to give me a huge bear hug. I laughed and hugged him back. He was so tall! I came up to about his shoulder. And he'd clearly been working out a bit. Tyler, like the other two, had the dark hair and olive coloured skin. "Hey cuz."

"Hello." I smirked, "How are you?"

"Great, the boys are lookin' forward to seein' you. 'specially Felix."

I laughed and shrugged, "Well me too. How are they?"

"Great." He repeated and I rolled me eyes with a smile.

Tamsin and Jamal went to sleep half an hour later after a bath and a story which they insisted I read, with voices. Then Rosie, Tyler and I sat down to eat at 8 o'clock. "So you have three days until school starts Veronica, do you need anything? We can go shopping tomorrow if you want." Rosie said.

"Oh, um…I don't know. I think I've got everything I need. But I was thinking about buying a car…I've got enough money I think."

"Of course! I'll book you some lessons. I doubt you'll want to go to school on the back of Ty's bike for the whole year."

I smiled, "Yeah, but I've already learnt to drive…and got a license; for here and England." That was my little secret. Did I mention that I'm a PI? Like my dad. MI5 had wanted me to join and they'd trained me completely to be an agent, but I was too young then and Jemma hadn't wanted me to do it. But I was still trained and had been given licenses to drive in the UK, USA and, for some reason, Italy. Not sure why they chose there but still.

"Oh…I thought you could only drive at 17?" She asked, clearly confused.

"Yeah, I learnt early. A friend taught me." I lied; I didn't want them to know about all that. I wanted to forget it now. I hadn't done anything PI like in two years, since everything with Stefan…

"Well that's good. Yeah we can do that tomorrow if you want. I'll buy it if you want." Rosie offered.

I shook my head, "No! I can! I've got enough money which I don't need."

"Okay." She smiled, looking weirdly impressed.

"So V, you wanna bike?" Tyler asked with a smirk.

I laughed, "No. Just a car thanks."


	3. Chapter 3

**VM again THREE**

(a/n: I know the car isn't really 'Veronica' but I thought it was pretty I was going to pick an old car like an old Cadillac cos they are _so_ much nicer. But I didn't. Hope you don't mind too much.)

I went with Tyler, Felix and Weevil to go car shopping. As Tyler had said last night, Felix was indeed excited to see me; he crushed me, picked me up and then swung me around for a minute. Weevil was calmer and just gave me a long hug. I went on the back of Tyler's bike as we headed to the shop.

There were loads of high end expensive cars, '09er cars' as the other three called them. I'd only learnt that term this morning: rich people in the 90909 district. We were just out of it, Tyler would move out if we were…that amused me.

"Yo V! You have to get this one!" Felix yelled across the room to me from his place at the wheel of what I would call a 'drug-lord' car. The salesman at the desk shook his head at the 'awful' behavior. Felix was pretending to drive it….with sound effects.

"What are you? 4?" Weevil asked, slapping him over the head and pulling him out the car like a kid who'd done something bad. I laughed and continued looking at the cars. There was one that caught my eye; a black Lexus SC430 convertible with four seats. It was indeed very pretty. I slid into the driver's seat…wowza.

"I like this one." I murmured and the other three walked over. Felix got in beside me and whistled out a long breath.

"Me too." I laughed and ran my hand over the steering wheel; the seats were all cream leather and were incredibly comfortable. It came with all little gadgets and had heated seats…not that those would be needed here.

The salesman walked over to us, giving the guys bad looks, "May I help you?" he asked, aiming the question at me.

"Yeah, how much is this car?" I asked, I watched his face as he took in my English accent.

"This car is marked at around $60,000. I could show you some cars more in your range if you would like." He offered in an arrogant voice.

"Um…no thanks; I like this one." I smiled, leaning back in the seat.

"But it's not in your price range." He continued.

I sighed, "And what is my price range? Do you know?" I asked levelly. The other three were grinning now.

"Uh…no…"

"Right. Actually it is right in my price range. Do you always guess these things and insult people or am I just special?" I asked, mock excitement in my voice.

"Uh…"

"Oh well. I'd like to buy this car please."

"Of course." he said before scuttling off.

"Good one V!" Weevil smirked as the other two laughed quietly. I smiled slightly and nodded.

An hour later we left the shop, me the proud owner of a brand new car. That drive home was the best drive of my life. It was smooth and quiet and perfect in every way. The others had to take their bikes so they just went around me like body guards. When we parked in the driveway and they all stood waiting for me to get out.

"C'mon V." Tyler tried to persuade me.

"I don't want to!" they laughed and I got out, stroking my hand along the shiny black paint, "It's so nice! You have no idea!"

"Well I'm gonna steal It." he told me.

"Not a chance."

"Swap for a bike?"

"NO! It's mine!" I laughed and reluctantly followed them inside. Rosie was at work and Lena had taken Tamsin and Jamal out for the day so we had the house to our self. We ended up watching loads of films and getting pizza. It was fun and laid back and the type of thing we used to spend all summer doing. Just forget about the outside world for a while.

Two days later it came…the first day of school. Oh shit. Rosie came in and woke me up with a mug of hot tea. It seemed impossible to drag myself out of this heavenly bed; the jetlag didn't help either. I showered quickly and went to face my wardrobe.

I wasn't going to dress up or anything but I'd heard enough about American high schools to know that this was judgment day. ( ) It was hot outside already so I put on some high-waisted denim shorts and a light grey loose crop top which showed a little bit of skin when I bent over or sat down. I wasn't vain, I wasn't; but I had been told before that I had a good body, I wasn't so sure. Yeah I was skinny, I had a washboard and good size boobs, long thin legs and I had a reasonable tan. Of course I was quite short as well which was annoying. My hair was quite long now and was in loose curls, and then my eyes were cerulean blue. There was nothing different about me.

I applied some mascara and eyeliner and donned some brown brogues which gave me a bit more height. Tyler was sitting downstairs watching TV and eating breakfast. He took one look at me then said, "09er."

"Huh?"

"You're gonna be an 09er. We made a bet, most of us think you gonna one." He informed me.

I sat down beside him, "Well thanks! That's just what I want to hear."

"Aww, don't worry about it. You don't have to be one of them."

"Hm…let's go." I said, standing up and slinging my bag over my shoulder; Primark's wonderful version of a brown burken bag…I liked it. Like always, I was happy to get in _my_ car with Tyler, we picked up Weevil and Felix on the way to school.

"So V, how you lookin' forward to your first day of hell?" Weevil asked as we neared the school.

I shrugged, "It's only two more years. But it's gonna be so different!" I told them. Following Tyler's instructions I turned into the Neptune High parking lot, coincidentally, I did so just at the time the other PCHer's arrived so they surrounded the car. I laughed quietly and pulled into a parking space; all the bikes came to a stop filling up the three either side.

"Do you guys mind? _New car_!" I called as we all got out. Javier, one of the bikers, grinned and pulled me into a hug.

"And what a nice car it is."

"Thank you." I smirked, putting my bag over my shoulder.

As we made our way across the quad, there were eyes on us, but I guessed that was usual for a huge gang of leather clad bikers. The cliques were pretty obvious there and I could see clearly the 09er's in all their supposed royalty. Tyler took me to the reception office to pick up my timetable, and then helped me find my locker. Five minutes later the bell rang for what is apparently called homeroom. I was so relieved to see two old friends; Eduardo and Javier again slouched in their seats at the back. I slid into the one beside Ed and said, "You know you'll get bad posture if you sit like that."

He looked at me disbelievingly and I burst out laughing, "Shu'up V!" he grinned.

"I apologize; your face is just so amusing."

"So's your accent." Harsh words.


	4. Chapter 4

**VM again FOUR**

(Logan's POV)

"DUDE! Have you seen that _hot_ new girl? She is _fiiit_!" Dick shouted, sliding into the bench opposite me.

"No." I sighed. Every term it was the same. Dick would find one new girl (or girl that he's never noticed before so therefore is 'new') to attempt to at least get off with. Sad, sad, sad. It appears it didn't take long this time.

"Yeah I have. She's in homeroom with me; and yeah she is really hot." Casey said from beside me, now I respected his choice in women a bit more than Dick. "Veronica something, think she's with the PCHer's though."

"Go talk to her Dick." I said with faint sarcasm.

"I will."

(Veronica's POV)

I wasn't concentrating. I was texting one of my best friends from England called Seb on my Blackberry and, turning a corner, I inevitably collided with someone. Their books went flying, all over the hallway. I had a free and I guessed so did this girl because lessons had already started.

"Shit! Sorry, wasn't concentrating." I apologized, bending down to help her pick up her stuff.

"Don't worry, I totally understand. I do this all the time." She grinned. She was slightly taller than me with long brown hair with blue streaks in it. "You're new right?"

"Yeah, how did you guess." I asked sarcastically.

"Hmm…maybe the accent." I laughed and nodded, "I'm Mac."

"Veronica, it's good to actually meet someone."

She nodded knowingly, "Yeah, the first day is always the worst. I was lucky though, I was already friends with people here."

"I have a few." I told her ominously and she smiled.

"Well if you want, you could come eat with us at lunch some time. We won't bite." She offered kindly, I liked her straight away; she seemed nice and genuine.

"Thanks, I might take you up on that. If I sit with the people I know here then everyone will think I'm a slut probably." I joked.

She laughed quietly, "Oh, yeah I saw you arrive today. With the PCHer's…yeah you might be right there." She told me truthfully, "Where are you headed? Free period?"

"Yeah, I was going to go to that computer room thing."

"Well follow me, I know where to go." We began to walk through the silent halls, conversation between us easy as it was for the whole of the next hour. I could imagine that we could be good friends. After the bell rang it was lunch and I did accept her invitation to eat lunch with them, sending Tyler a text to tell him. She led me through the quad to sit at a busy table beside her.

"Hey everyone, this is Veronica. Veronica this is everyone; Meg, Wallace, Duncan, Dick, Jackie, Lilly, Cassidy, Casey, Luke and Logan." She shouted, gaining all their attention.

"Hi." I smiled, all of a sudden feeling rather self conscious at all their eyes on me.

"Hey! Newbie!" the girl named Lilly yelled and pulled me into a huge hug, then stepped back to inspect me. "Good." …okay then…She was the same height as me and slightly bigger but was incredibly stunning, with long blonde hair framing her narrow face and huge green eyes.

"Alright then." I smirked in reply and she smiled. I glanced back round the group and, to my surprise, found most of the guys staring at me. One, a blonde surfer type, looked totally shocked and I laughed, "Catching flies." I said, commenting on his mouth hanging open. He quickly closed it and turned to the guy sitting next to him. He must be Logan…wow…he was fine .

"It's _her!_" Dick whispered to him.

I caught Logan's eye and we both smiled, "Well then…you're from England?" Lilly asked loudly, having noticed the brief interaction. She was sitting on the guy called Luke's lap.

"Yep, London."

"Where abouts? It's so cool; I've been there a few times." Meg asked, she was leaning against the Duncan guy; the couples on this table were clear: Meg and Duncan, Lilly and Luke, Mac and Dick and Jackie and Wallace. I learnt names quickly.

"You ever heard of Brixton? There." I said, picturing our old house on Cold Harbor Lane, next to the back entrance of Brockwell Park. I'd loved it there; me and my friends had always jumped over the fence into the park at night and just hung around for ages; it had been fun.

"I've been there, the O2 academy." I nodded and smiled, thinking how weird it was that she knew the place and she lived on a completely different continent.

"So where do you live here?" Lilly asked.

I thought for a minute, what was our post code…or zip code? "08 something? I don't know." She nodded, a pleased expression on her face, the same was on Mac's and Logan's; I was confused. I'd guessed by now that these were the 09er's; Tyler would be winning the bet then.

"That's just round the corner from us." She informed me.

"So what's with you and the bikers? I mean, everyone saw you arrive with them." Casey asked curiously.

I smiled slightly, unsure of what to tell them, "Well Tyler's my cousin. When I used to come here when I was younger, we were all really good friends and we still are." I explained, "They're like family."

"Cool, ya know Logan's like _best_ friends with Weevil." Lilly told me with a devious smirk on her face. I glanced over at Logan who was glaring at her.

Knowing it was probably the total opposite, I asked Logan, "What's your surname?"

"Echolls. Yes my dad's famous." He said, clearly not wanting me to be all 'oh-my-god-your-dads-famous-I'm-gonna-be-your-best-friend!'

"Echolls?" I thought, racking my mind to try and figure out a famous person called Echolls, I genuinely couldn't think of one, "Don't know it…" They were all staring at me in shock.

"Wow you must be totally clueless! _Aaron_ Echolls! Oscar winning movie star?" Lilly questioned.

That rang a bell, "Oh…! Is he in that film…something about a bomb on a bus…?" While I tried to remember it, all of them, apart from Logan continued to stare at me. Logan on the other hand, looked incredibly happy that I didn't know.

"I like you; you don't know who my dad is." He told me truthfully and I laughed quietly.

"Well you're definitely the first who hasn't known who he is, or known who Logan is." Lilly told me.

"Sorry." I apologized with a smiled.

"It's a good thing." Logan assured me, "My dad's an asshole." I laughed and some of the others did too.

"Well if you say so."


	5. Chapter 5

**VM again FIVE**

**Sorry the last chapter was so short. I hit a wall **

By the end of the first week of school I was already 'in' the 09er group, however unintentionally. I was getting on really well with all of them, especially Logan; I would be lying if I didn't say I liked him. Tyler was perfectly happy with me being friends with them since he was $100 richer for it, though he did warn me to be careful. Weevil didn't like my friendship with Logan but he said he just wanted me to be happy.

They were all heading down to the beach on Friday night, as they apparently did every weekend, and they'd invited me to come along. I went home after school and grabbed some clothes before leaving for Lilly's house…which was humongous to say the least. They were all in her massive room, raiding her 100% designer wardrobe. Apparently we were dressing up for this; lucky for me, Mac had told me we probably would be earlier.

I went into the bathroom and changed into my tight, black, body-con dress; it had three quarter length sleeves was really quite short so I wore it with some black tights. The back dipped low to almost the small of my back, showing my bra strap which was navy but oh well. I put on some more makeup and some black lace up ankle boots with a thick, two inch heel. These were my favourite shoes and I wore them all the time. Before I left the toilet I pulled my long wavy hair onto one shoulder and put in a clip and the back so it would stay like that.

"Wow, you look good." Meg informed me, Lilly nodded in absolute agreement.

"Really no; but you guys really do." I told him, they were about to protest but I continued, "We have five minutes! Let's leave. We're gonna be late anyway." We all jumped into action and within a few minutes we were all clambering into my car. Lilly joined me in the front while Meg, Mac and Jackie squished into the tiny back; the roof was off so that gave them a bit more room. The beach was at least ten minutes away so in the end we were ten minutes late. The guys were already there, lounging around Logan's totally conspicuous canary yellow X-terra. I sighed and pulled into the space in front of them; it was a tiny space but, due to excellent training, got in in one, in under a minute. The guys looked rather impressed as we got out and approached them.

"Pretty good Veronica." Logan smirked as the others all greeted their relative partners in their own 'ways'.

"Why thank you, what else were you expecting?"

"Well, I must admit I anticipated having to buy a new bumper." He informed me, glancing down at it.

I sighed and smiled at him, "'Fraid not."

"Oh dear."

"Stop bantering you two! Let's go." Meg called as they began to walk away; we both smiled at each other and followed them.

"You look nice." He told me after a second and I actually felt myself blush! What the hell!

"Why Mr. Echolls, so do you." I replied in a smart voice, glancing up to see him smiling too.

He put a hand over his heart and said "You flatter me Ms. Mars."

"I try my best." We both laughed quietly and walked the rest of the way to join the others. Everyone was sitting in couples; Lilly and Luke were busy with each other at the time. They were all positioned in a long line so Logan and I sat at the end next to Mac and Dick. I kicked of my shoes and dug them into the soft sand in front of me, leaning back on my hands. The sun was sitting on the horizon, casting beautiful amber rays of light over us. I spotted Lilly with a camera and smirked, great…pictures.

"Lilly! No!" Mac yelled at her when she took a picture of her and Dick. She jumped to her feet and chased Lilly away, to our amusement. I watched them stop about fifty meters away and talk quietly, getting suspicious when they both glanced at me.

"They're planning something." I warned everyone.

"Yep they definitely are. And I think that you are the target." Wallace grinned.

"Yay." I sighed.

They returned to the group and sat back down in silence, resuming their previous activities. We were all expecting them to do something so I speak for everyone in saying that we were confused. "You should be worried." Logan told me quietly.

"I am." He laughed softly, it was a nice sound.

It was a few hours later at 11 o'clock that they began to act on their plan. Meg and Duncan had disappeared off to do couple things further up the beach; nobody felt the need to join them. It was totally dark by now and the full moon was up. Logan and I had just been talking for ages and had hardly noticed the time go by.

"People! Attention, we've been here a long time and frankly, we have done nothing. That is unless you count the two eloped lovers over the hill." We all laughed quietly, "And remember this is V's first Beach night! I think we should play 'Truth or Dare'." There were multiple groans and protests but Lilly was unstoppable when she set her mind to something; I'd learnt that in only two days of knowing her. She ran off in the direction of the cars and came back a minute later with four bottles of rum. She gave one to me, Mac, Jackie and the last for her.

"I'll start. Mac, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Okay…have you ever had sexual dream about one of the girls here?" She asked, totally seriously.

Mac sighed, clearly expecting that type of question, "No. Now, Wallace, truth or dare?"

He looked slightly anxious, "Dare, why not."

Mac grinned and thought for a minute, "Run to the liquor store and buy a bottle of vodka." I frowned, everyone looked totally confused but Wallace looked happy with that. I waited for the inevitable next sentence which everyone should have guessed, "Buck naked."

"I'll drink thanks." He said, taking a swig from his and Jackie's bottle.

It continued; nobody did anything too big for a while and neither Logan nor I got one for a long time; I was okay with that. That ended with Lilly's third go, "Echolls, truth or dare?"

"Dare." He said confidently.

"Good, I dare you, to kiss that fine specimen of a creature beside you, for as long as you see fit." He looked between me and Mac, both beside him. "The British one." She added in her best English accent which made me burst out laughing.

"Well he isn't about to kiss me is he! He knows I'd punch him." Mac said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I looked up at Logan and he grinned at me, I smiled back and waited for his dare to be fulfilled, looking forward to it myself. Within a second his lips were on mine, and the boy could kiss! My arms wound around his neck and his pulled me closer around my waist while his tongue explored my mouth. We only separated a few minutes later due to our friend's cat calls and wolf whistles.

"I wasn't finished with my dare." Logan said and I laughed, sitting up again and acknowledging Lilly and Mac's smug expressions.

"Well we want ours!" Jackie insisted with a smiled.

"Fine, Mac." Logan said, staring at her seriously, she pointed to herself and looked behind her jokingly, "Yes you. I _dare_ you, because I know you'll choose dare." She nodded, "So I dare you to kiss any girl here." That pleased Dick immensely.

They were such guys.

"Fine, which guy should I apologize to first: Wallace, Luke or Logan?" I smiled inside and blushed slightly at her insinuating that Logan and I were together now. "I'm sorry…Luke." She said before waltzing over to Lilly and kissing her on the lips. She grinned and kissed her back; you can just tell that she's a dare devil. She'll do anything.

"Well then; my turn _again_. I dare everyone here to simply go swimming. Strip to your undies and get into that water." She grinned, pointing to the sea. Oh dear. So I'd known them a week, I'd kissed Logan once, and in seven days they would have also seen me in my underwear. Joy. I was really becoming easy. Not good.

Lilly was already ready, as was Luke, Jackie, Wallace and Dick who was in the process of helping Mac. I turned to Logan and shrugged before we both began to follow the others. A minute later we were both running into the water; it was shockingly cold so, while Logan went in splashing, I dived right under and began to swim. I'd always enjoyed swimming underwater, especially when my eyes were open. When I felt like I'd die if I didn't get air, I rose to the surface. I broke the surface about fifty meters out; ten meters from the others who were all looked around frantically.

"Where did she go?" Lilly yelled, panicked.

"Where'd who go?" I called, immediately worried.

All their heads spun round to look at me with relieved faces, "You! What happened! You were under for like two minutes!" Mac shouted.

I smiled and ducked back under, a second later popping up beside Logan, "It's fine; I always do that." I said, laughing slightly as they jumped at my reappearance.

"You're a whale then." Dick stated causing the girls to laugh.

"Wow…what a compliment! You should get a prize there." He blushed and moved closer to Mac. Like someone had given some sort of signal, all of them turned to their partners and the group gradually dispersed; floating in different directions. We were pretty far out now; if Duncan and Meg came back they probably wouldn't see us.

"Well at least you don't look like a whale." Logan piped up and I turned to smile at him, "And you don't kiss like one."

"_Have_ you kissed one?"

"Unfortunately not; I can imagine it would be quite an experience though." He mused, we were slowly moving closer to one another. He moved forwards and closed the distance, pressing his mouth down on mine for the second time tonight; I smiled and deepened the kiss, wrapping my arms around him and he me. Pulling away for a second, he gave me an impish grin before kissing me again and pulling us both under the water.

M/D L/L J/W M/DJnr.


	6. Chapter 6

**VM again SIX**

I woke up with a headache; not too bad but it was definitely present. I sat up and I realized I was still wearing yesterday's underwear which was still slightly damp. The rest of my clothes were dumped on the floor, also wet. I remembered the events of last night…I'd kissed Logan! And not just once! I'd kissed him underwater too! What they hell! Was that good or bad? Tyler surely wouldn't be happy.

There was a knock on the door and I quickly pulled on a dark grey hoodie that was on the bed; I recognized it as Logan's. "V?" Tyler's voice came through.

"Come in." I called, pulling the duvet back over me and leaning back against the headboard. He walked in, already dressed, and put a mug of tea on the bedside table for me, then came and sat on the bed.

"Good night? You got back pretty late."

"Yeah it was fun. What time is it? And when did I get back again?" I asked curiously.

He smirked, "You got back at just after one, and its one now…in the afternoon." He told me, "Don't worry, mum prefers us to sleep in on the weekends. She doesn't think we get enough sleep anyway." He assured me.

"Oh…cool."

"We aren't morning people." He looked down at the jumper I was wearing and asked, "Whose is that?"

I bit my lip and pulled the sleeves over my hands to play with them, "Logan's." he frowned, confused, "Well we went to the beach and we all ended up in the water. I was cold when we got out so he gave it to me; I forgot to bring a jumper." I explained.

"What's more fun than a load of rich, drunk 09er's skinny dipping at night?" Rhetorical question.

"Shu'up, we weren't skinny dipping."

He watched me for a second, trying to figure something out it seemed, "You look guilty…what have you done?" So much for all that tedious agent training; I couldn't keep anything away from Tyler.

"I didn't mean okay! It was a dare and I s'pose we got a bit carried away! _And_ we were drunk!" I ranted defensively.

"Huh? What you do?" he actually looked worried now.

I hesitated for a minute, unsure of how to put this, "I kissed Logan." Most direct approach then. His eyes widened and I rushed on, "Well no…he kissed me the first time."

"The first time?" Not good tone.

"I told you we were drunk too!" he gave me the 'like-that's-an-excuse' look.

"Do you like him?"

Now that made me think, did I? "Yeah…I guess I do."

He shrugged, "So in under a week of being here, you've become and inner circle 09er _and_ you're going out with one of the people we hate most in this town. Congratulations." He notified me sarcastically.

"Can you not. Just because I'm friends with them doesn't mean you have to be a twat about it. It won't make me any less your friend."

There was a small awkward silence where he seemed to be surprised by my outburst, "Sorry, I know that. It's just I've known them for a long time; I've seen how then make and dump their friends. I just don't want that to happen to you."

I smiled and nodded, "Don't worry; I'll be careful."

I picked Mac up on the way to school on Monday; she just grinned at me the whole way. Tyler and the other's were back on their bikes now. We got there in perfect time to join the others heading to homeroom. I was with Mac and Casey there but none of the others. We greeted everyone and I felt an arm over my shoulder.

Smirking, I said, "Hello Logan." Without looking at him.

"Hello Ve-ron-icaaa." He replied happily. We followed the others in a non-awkward silence.

"I still have your hoodie; I'll bring it in tomorrow." I told him as we neared my class.

He shrugged, "Keep it as long as you want; I've got too many. Though that is a nice one." I laughed quietly, "I'll see you later." He said, giving me a quick hug before heading off to his class. Mac and Casey were waiting at the door for me a few meters away.

"You two are so cute." She grinned as we walked in.

"Shu'up." The teacher wasn't there yet so I dumped my bag on a desk beside Mac in front of Javier, turning round to say hello to them.

"So Weev tells us you're with Echolls now." Eduardo stated, neither of them looked all too pleased.

"I'm not _with_ him." I sighed, wandering if it was possible for my dear cousin to keep his mouth shut. Of course they'd all find out somehow; these guys new everything. "He's my friend."

"Sure." He smirked and I scowled at him teasingly, "You know V, I ain't had none of your famous triple chocolate cake in 'bout five, six years."

I mock gasped, "_No_! That's awful! What should we do?"

"Yeah, me neither! Go home and do some baking." Javier grinned.

"I might just do that. It's Weev's birthday soon so I might have to make some for then." I warned them, they looked pleased. Weevil was going to be 17 next week, on Saturday. Felix and Tyler were organizing a surprise party at our house; I was in charge of cooking like always. Lucky I enjoyed it.

At the end of the day I found Logan leaning against my car. I smiled and walked over, "If you scratch the paint; you're paying." I called once in hearing distance.

He laughed and checked quickly, "Nope; too bad for you." I jumped my bag in the back and stood in front of him, waiting for him to speak, "So, what are we doing?"

"Well I'm dropping Mac at home and then going to finish my homework at my house. I just don't know about you; maybe…umm…play station? What do American teenage guys do to amuse themselves when no ones looking?" I said sarcastically.

He sighed with a smile, "That's for me to know and you to ponder on. If I told you it would spoil the concept. But no, that's not what I meant. What I meant is what are _we _doing? Cos I'm just gonna come right out and say that I like you."

I smiled and felt a blush creeping over my face, "Hmm…but the question is…do _I_ like _you_?" He scowled jokingly and I looked back towards the school to see Mac walking out with Dick; they were talking so not looking our way. Looking back at Logan, I put my hands on his shoulders and went up on my tip toes to place a kiss on his lips. He was smiling but I pulled back before he could kiss me back, "And the answer would be, I think I might."

With that I walked round the car and jumped in, he grinned at me and waved before leaving to get into his car. Mac got in and I pulled out, making my way to the exit. Logan's monster car shot forwards a meter as we were passing in front, stopping half a meter before it hit the back. I stopped and shot a scowl at Logan's grinning face.

"Twat." I shouted with a smile on my face, he laughed.

"You two really are perfect." Mac informed me five minutes later when we were out on the road. The smile stayed on my face as I shrugged; I didn't know about that but this sure felt good.


	7. Chapter 7

**VM again SEVEN**

"Veronica! Where are the cups?" I reached into a cupboard and pulled out a bag of plastic cups, passing them to Jamal as he ran into the kitchen, "Thank you!" he called as he ran back out again.

"Careful!" I called; Rosie hated them running around on the slippery wooden floors. It was the day of Weevil's surprise party and the house was mental. Most of the PCHer's were here already though Felix was bringing Weevil in an hour. His family has all here, as were a few of the others. I was in the kitchen, still cooking. I'd made a massive triple chocolate cake, enough to feed at least 25; it was incredible how much these guys could eat. Then also lots of little snacks, finger food. Tyler was preparing the barbecue outside and Rosie was setting the table with the help of Jamal. Tammy was instructing Thumper and Ricardo how to make good banners. It was really quite amusing watching that; two huge bikers being shouted at by a tiny 5 year old.

There was a huge crate of beers in the garden, and even a few bottles of champagne. Rosie loved throwing parties. I remembered when I'd had one here when I was seven, it was all the same people and it had been pretty incredible.

With half an hour left and all the cooking done apart from a few things to take out the oven in forty minutes, I ran out to my room to get changed. Everyone was quite dressed up; not suites, just nice clothes. I let my hair out of the bun and opened my wardrobe. As usual it was a hot afternoon; I'd been shopping with Lilly and Mac to buy some more summery clothes. Also I had to order some on the internet; why didn't they have Topshop in America? I pulled on a dark blue high waisted skirt which came about five inches above my knees. Then a very nice thin cream, quite low cut, lace shirt tucked in, with a white tank top underneath of course seeing as it was pretty see through. Finally I put on some make up and slipped on some simple black four inch heels and walked out.

"Yo V! He's almost here." Ed called as I entered the patio, "You look nice."

"Thanks." I muttered, busy stealing one of the smoked salmon and cream cheese blinies on the table.

"You do actually." Javier added, I turned to find them all looking at me.

Sighing, "C'mon guys! Everyone get ready. We're not here, and then when Ty and Felix bring him in, everyone says…"

"Surprise?" Thumper guessed.

I frowned, "Hmm…Surprise, or…Happy Birthday? Which one?" Tamsin came running out then and I asked her, "What do you think Tam? Happy Birthday or Surprise?"

"I like the first one, cos it is his birthday." She informed me importantly.

"Then Happy Birthday it is." My phone buzzed I my pocket then and I pulled it out and opened the text from Tyler: _At da g8s, gt every1 redy._ What brilliant English. "They're here, Tammy go get the others." And she scampered off again.

Five minutes later everyone was ready on the patio. There were about twenty people assembled in absolute silence there when I heard the front door open and close. Their voices drifted out of the open doors to us.

"What's goin' on?" Came Weevil's voice.

"Just keep walking!" Tyler sighed; they were at the door now. I could see Felix had his hands clamped over Weevil's eyes, he was grinning from ear to ear. When they were in position, he let go and stood back,

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" we all yelled, he looked totally shocked and I laughed, walking forwards to give him a hug after his grandma.

"Oh my god! Wow! Thanks!" he said, smiling widely. "This is unexpected."

"Well it's your birthday and everyone decided that since you are these guys noble leader, you deserved a party." I informed him.

"Aww, thanks boys." He laughed and did that knocking knuckles things with a few of them. Everyone began talking and I went to the kitchen to take everything out of the oven. Then returned to the patio, Rosie and I had planned everything already so I knew that ten minutes later, I was to get everyone to sit down. The first course was just some sort of pate and some bread; just something to snack on while the other food was prepared. Tyler and Felix helped putting all the main food on the table after that; mostly just barbecued things cos that was what everyone liked. That went down well apparently I got a text from Logan when I took the plates back to the kitchen with Ty's help: _Good party? Better be since you're missing the beach! _I laughed quietly and replied quickly.

"Who's that?" Tyler asked curiously.

"Logan." I told him, putting the phone away and opening the freezer to get the huge tubs of ice-cream; one vanilla and one chocolate. "Can you take them, it's cake time!" I said joyfully.

Everyone's faces when I put the cake in front of Weevil were brilliant; Felix looked like he'd died and gone to heaven. "Happy birthday Weev." I told him quietly and he pulled me into a quick hug.

"Thanks, this is amazing."

Felix was now bouncing on his seat with the excitement of it all so Weevil began to cut the cake, passing the huge slices round the table. Very cruelly, he made sure Felix got his last; he looked like he was going to die. Tammy and Jamal had to half a tiny piece because it was way too rich for them; they'd been incredible excited about having a late night and eating with the 'grown ups' if you could even call Felix a grown up.

"Oh my god…this is the best cake ever." Weevils Gran, Letti, told me.

"It really is; I can't believe I've been deprived of this for six years." Javier told me. Felix had chocolate all round his mouth but he looked perfectly content.

"Well we have a lot left so if you're all nice to Weevil, you could get more." I told them, glancing at the birthday boy who also looked happy. I was sitting between Felix and him, receiving many happy vibes.

Rosie went stood up and went inside then, a second later reappearing with her camera. I sighed and pointed out Felix's face to her. She shrugged and snapped a picture. She took many, and then insisted on a group photo afterwards. Before that though, I sent Felix to clean his face.

Once the meal was over it was time for presents. I'd bought him a few small things which I knew he'd wanted, including DVD's and CD's. "Now for ours you have to go outside." Ed told him. I didn't know what the present was but we'd all, including me, put some money towards it. I wasn't allowed to know which I thought was pretty unfair .

The driveway was full of motorbikes, then Rosie and my car and Letti's. However ahead when you open the door stood a huge, incredible looking shiny black motorbike. It was brand new and had a huge red bow stuck onto it. Weevil looked absolutely speechless.

"Happy birthday man, it's from all of us." Tyler told him, slapping him on the back.

"Uh…wow!" he walked over to it and ran his hand over it, "Thank you guys…this is incredible!"

"Don't mention it." Thumper smirked and Weevil returned to the group and gave them all 'man' hugs. Everyone was happy.

After we'd all together put Tammy and Jamal to bed with a little story, much to their amusement, everyone settled in the cinema room (yes there was a cinema here) to watch one of Weevil's new DVD's. Rosie and Letti sat in the kitchen until Letti left at midnight. They ended up all staying the night and we all slept planned to sleep in the living room. I went to my room and changed into my pajamas; some short black trackie shorts and a white tank top. Tyler and I had gotten loads of duvets and pillows so the already carpeted floor was now basically a huge bed. We fell asleep at about five in the morning, me lying in the middle with all of them around me. It was an enjoyable night.

I woke up at 2:30 in the afternoon, everyone else was still asleep. I had a few texts from the others and quickly replied to them on my way over to my room. Earlier this week I'd planned to meet up with Logan today so I was going to be late if I didn't leave soon. I had a quick shower and shaved hurriedly, of course cutting myself in the process multiple times. I put on the same skirt as last night and a white loose, racer back tank top; then some brown gladiator sandals and some makeup. I met Rosie in the kitchen and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.

Logan lived only five minutes away from my house so I walked there, past the guards and security dogs and up the long driveway. All the security seemed a bit excessive to me; his dad must be really uneasy about the press. I rang the doorbell and it was opened by a middle aged looking man who I recognized after a second as Aaron Echolls; he had floppy brown hair and a lined face. He was about as tall as Logan and I could just see the resemblance between the father and son.

"Hi, is Logan here?" I asked.

He had a small smile on his face, "He's in his room. You must be Veronica, pleased to meet you." He told me graciously and I smiled.

"You too." He stepped aside to let me in, and then motioned for me to follow him through the vast house.

"So you're from England?" he asked casually.

"The accent kind of gives me away there doesn't it?" I smirked, glancing up to see him laugh.

"It does. Here's his room." He said, pointing me to a closed door on a wide corridor, I nodded and pushed it open, "Good bye Veronica."

"Bye." I smiled as he walked off and I turned to look at Logan sitting playing video games. He watched our short exchange with a strange expression on his face; somewhere between shock, anger and wanting to pull me away from him. "You okay there?" I asked.

"Yep, you're late." He informed me with a smile, quickly switching moods.

I walked over and sat beside him, giving him a quick kiss, pulling away only for him to pull me back down to meet his lips. I ended up sitting on his lap straddling him, unable to get away even if I'd wanted to. "Sorry, we didn't get to sleep until late. I think they're all still asleep now."

"S'alright. Was it fun?" he asked with a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

Scowling playfully I nodded, "It was actually; very fun. We made a huge bed on the living room floor and all fell asleep; after eating far too much cake and watching a load of films. Weev got a new bike." I explained.

"Well I hope it was worth it cos' the beach wasn't much fun without you. Lilly and Luke went off somewhere, then Meg and Duncan _again_. The rest of us did have some fun though."

"Aww…were you all on your ones?" I asked in the patronizing way you talk to a small child, stroking his head.

"Yes I was." He retorted, playing along.

"Well that's not very good! You had Casey though." He raised an eyebrow and I laughed, "Okay, well I'm here now. Are you always this pathetic when you have to last a night without your weekly conquest?" I asked teasingly.

He scowled and kissed me again, "No, but you're also not a 'weekly conquest' as you put it."

"Good." I smirked; leaning forwards to kiss him again but at the last minute, while he was distracted, pinched the game controller and pressed continue. He sighed and picked up the second one, "I dare you to be better than me." I ventured with faux-arrogance.

He shrugged, "Bring it."

And that's just what I did.

It was one of those boyish games where you had to race cars around a track and so loads of tricks. I became more and more amused as he got more and more frustrated; I was winning. "Not so cocky now are we Mr. Echolls." I grinned when I won.

"You've played before."

"Nope…not that I can remember. Just natural talent." I joked and he scoffed. "Hush, a bit of faith!"

He grinned and stood up beside me, "You wanna watch a film? We have hundreds."

"Sure." He pointed me in the right direction and, ten minutes later, we were all buried in his plush feather duvets on his bed, watching _'On the Waterfront'. _It was one of my favourite films of all time, I remembered the first time I'd watched it was with Stefan; he'd shown it to me one time we did a movie marathon. We'd chosen characters and used to always recite the lines we knew by heart. It made me sad to think I'd never be able to do that again. God I missed that boy.

"You alright?" Logan asked, nudging my arm. I glanced up to see him watching me with a concerned face.

"Yeah…yeah I'm fine. Don't worry 'bout it."

"You sure?"

"Yep, thanks." I smiled, squeezing his hand; he didn't look all together convinced but didn't press the subject. I looked back at the screen but didn't focus on it. I realized then that despite everything that had happened, despite the constant aching pain from the loss of my best friend; right here, right now…I was happy.


	8. Chapter 8

**VM again EIGHT**

It was 'that' time again. Once a year it came round; the day that used to be so much fun, the cause of so much happiness. It was now a constant reminder that my best friend was gone; forever and always. The second I woke up I knew; the pain was there in seconds.

Usually I'd spend the whole day in bed, crying over photos, memories and while watching our favourite films. Then, when the sun began to set; I'd head out to the graveyard. Since they'd never found his body he didn't have a proper grave but he still had stone. That was enough. We'd both always loved twilight; the best part of the day. That's when I would arrive and I'd stay there for hours 'with him'.

But now I was here and I couldn't do that. Living with people who didn't know; who wouldn't understand. I was a thousand miles from any place that he and I had shared and it was a school day; Thursday to be exact. I lay in my bed and stared at the ceiling for a while, there was a knock on the door and Rosie walked in.

"You alright honey? Feeling okay? It's quite late; you better get a move on."

"Yeah, sorry, I'm really tired."I lied. I never talked to anybody about this, hardly even Jemma.

She nodded and smiled, "Do you want to stay home today? You've been working really hard lately and going out a lot. You must be knackered!"

That surprised me, I wasn't expecting it, "Oh…yes please, thanks." I said with a grateful smile. She left and I let out a relieved sigh; at least one thing would be normal today. I rolled over and buried myself under the duvets, within five minutes I was gone again.

I awoke again to my blackberry vibrating on the wooden bedside table. The clock read 11:30am; I'd been asleep for over three hours! Slowly I picked up the phone, recognizing Jemma's name flashing across the screen.

"Hey Jemma." I sighed quietly, putting it on loudspeaker.

I heard her sigh too at the end of the line, "Hi V…how you holding up?"

Sinking back to lie under the covers in a little cave I shrugged, "I dunno, sad…obviously. I don't know what to do…I can't go and see him…I can't go to anywhere we were together." A tear spilled down my face as my voice broke.

"Shh…I know, I understand. God I'm sad too! He was like a son to me as well." She said with a feeble chuckle. "I know you'll be upset today, it wasn't that long ago, just try and keep yourself together as much as you can. I wish I was there with you."

"I wish you were too." I sniffed, wiping my wet eyes. Stefan had spent most of his time in our house, he practically lived with us; he even called Jemma mum. His parents had died when he was younger and he'd lived with a foster family. Jemma had wanted to adopt him but for some reason wasn't able to. "I just miss him so much! And I don't even have _you_ now!" More tears.

"I know honey…I know. But I'll come and visit soon you understand." I could hear that she was crying too, her voice was thick like mine.

"But I feel so alone…" I whispered, knowing how pathetic and dramatic that sounded; Stefan would laugh at me for saying such a thing.

"You're not alone V. You've got Rose, Tyler and the little ones. Then that fabulous boyfriend you've been telling me about. Rose say's you two are great; by the sounds of it he really cares about you." She told me, trying to reassure me.

I let out a shake laughed, "Well I know I care about him. I might go to the beach later; you know, sit for a while and think."

"Okay, but if I were you I'd find someone to talk too. I know I've told you this a million times but you can't keep all these emotions bottled up like you do. You have to find someone over there to talk to. Rosie's always there; you get on well with Tyler; and Logan too. Find somebody V."

"Yeah, I'll see." Lie…I knew I wouldn't. I didn't do that; only ever with Stefan. And on a subject like this it was sure to be the full Monty; tears and all, the whole emotional breakdown thing. "I've gotta go now Jem, I'll talk to you later.

"Alright, bye bye love; call if you need anything."

"I will. Love you, bye." I said before hanging up. It was good to talk to her; she was the only one who almost understood.

I stood up and made my way slowly to the kitchen, wearing my short blue trackie shorts and black tank top; it was too hot to wear much else in bed here. I made myself a banana milkshake and slurped it down at the table. Then grabbed two tubs of ice cream and some Reese's peanut butter topping and shuffled back to my room. And thus my day passed. By 2 in the afternoon I thought I'd never get rid of the persistent tear stains. I got a few texts from Logan and the others but put off replying until I forgot about them.

By 4:00 pm I couldn't take the room anymore so I got dressed into some black Nike tracksuits and a white tank top and got into my car. Ten minutes later I was at the beach. Since school was almost finished it wasn't yet full of the usual surfer dudes. More like families with young children or old couples. I walked far up the beach, just beyond the point that we go to on Saturday nights. It was quiet at the moment though. I put in my headphones and scrolled through my artists until I found 'I Blame Coco'- Self Machine'. Putting it on shuffle and turning it right up, I lay back on the sand and closed my eyes.

The stains on my cheeks were dry when I felt his presence. It must have been two hours since I arrived; I'd fallen asleep. I didn't open my eyes but I knew who it was.

"You weren't at school and you weren't answering your phone. You always have your phone on you. So I figured you were ill or something, your aunt told me you'd gone out so I guessed you were here." Logan explained quietly, "What's wrong?"

I let out a quiet sigh and sat up, turning off my iPod and digging my feet into the sand before me. "Nothing, I'm fine." I muttered, giving him a quick forced smile.

"Yeah, you're not that good at lying V." He stated, looking at me seriously.

Well I was when I wasn't upset, "Okay, then I don't want to talk about." Trying another way.

He frowned, concern in his eyes as he studied my face; his eyes following the tracks down my cheeks, "You've been crying…a lot."

"Perceptive aren't you." I smirked half-heartedly.

He raised an eyebrow and sighed, "I have the right to know why my girlfriend is so upset she's missing school. C'mon, you can tell me."

A frown creased my brow and I looked down at the ground, "I always miss school on this date; for the last three years at least. It's just not a good day." I shrugged. Did I want to tell him? I wasn't sure. It would be nice to have someone to talk to about it; even if it was just once a year.

"Why? What happened?"

I sighed and looked up at him; there was clear worry in his eyes along with some interest. I frowned and looked away again towards the horizon, debating in my head whether or not to tell him. He nudged be gently after a while of silent thoughts, "Fine…today is my best friend's birthday." He looked confused; I carried on, "Stefan Moresly. We grew up together…knew each other for so long I can't even remember meeting him. He was an orphan, my aunt Jemma wanted to adopt him but couldn't. He was like my brother, her son." I explained with a smile on my face. "So why is this a bad day? Because he died three years ago…three long years."

He frowned, showing sympathy in his expression, "I'm sorry." He murmured after a minute, at a loss for better words.

I shrugged, "It's just that since before I can remember today was the best day of the year. We always went somewhere or did something huge. Last time we went to Paris for the weekend, spent a day in Disneyland. We had so much fun." I smiled to myself, looking out at the horizon. I could feel his eyes on the side of my face, "And now he's gone and today's a constant reminder of that; the worst day of the year."

He put an arm around my shoulders and squeezed slightly, I leant into him and laid my head on his shoulders, "What can I do?" he asked gently.

"Nothing, don't worry about it. I talked to my aunt this morning and got it all out then." I told him with a smile and he frowned slightly. "We were a family; she knows how I feel."

Nodding, he planted a kiss on the top of my head, "Well I'm here for you Ronnie…whenever you need me."


	9. Chapter 9

**VM again NINE**

**I AM SUCH AN IDIOT! I'm sososososososososososoSO sorry! So basically I got confused and put this chapter before the one before so now you all know what's going to happen. I sorted it out but I'm still a div :D sorry **

So life you good for a few months; everything was perfect, nothing bad happened. I was still with Logan and we were, as well as being boyfriend and girlfriend, best friends; that sounded cheesy but it was true. Then Lilly, Mac, Meg and Jackie were my best girl friends of course. With the PCHer's everything was as good as every; I juggled the two groups well apparently and none of my friendships appeared to have suffered. Jemma and I were totally back to normal now. We talked at least every night; apparently things were really wonderful in New Zealand and she's even met someone called Alistair.

Of course the world went crazy.

It was when we came back after the Christmas holidays that the new guy joined Neptune High. By the time it was lunch I'd still hadn't met him but I'd heard enough about him. According to Lilly and a few of the other girls; he was '_gawwwgusss!'_ Luke never seemed to mind when Lilly said these types of things about other guys; they had a sort of 'look-and-appreciate-but-_don't_-touch' relationship. She'd explained that he was tall, fit, and tan with cropped black hair and incredible green eyes.

"I must meet this guy." I smirked, just to annoy Logan who was sitting on the table behind with me leaning against his legs. He flicked my head and I laughed, "Joking, calm your inner jealousy beast." The others laughed and I looked up to see he was smiling too. He leant down and pressed a kiss to my lips, "Aah, the beast is back in its cage."

"_Oh my god_! There he is! Look V! Look!" Lilly squealed pointing over to the doors out onto the quad. I laughed and looked over; trying of spot this apparent God. I froze the instant my eyes laid eyes on him, my heart may have even stopped for a second as I felt the blood drain out of my face.

It was _him_.

Same tan. Same eyes. Same smile. The only difference was the hair and height. But how could this be? How could _he_ be here? He'd died! Almost four years ago! But it was him; I couldn't mistake that face anywhere; even in a crowd of a million people I'd be able to recognize him. I couldn't hear my friends concerned voices or Logan's hand on my shoulder, trying to snap me out of it; all I could see was him.

Without thinking about it, I stood up and made my way across the quad; feeling their eyes on me and my cousin's as I made my way to the 'new boy'. He had his back to me and I stopped, hesitating before saying, "Stefan?"

I saw him freeze, then slowly turn around, my hand flew to my mouth and I gasped. Yes it was definitely him. He looked totally shocked too, "Oh my God." I murmured.

"Ronnie?" he asked disbelievingly, he spoke with an American accent now.

"Yeah…" I whispered and all of a sudden I was wrapped up into a huge hug. My arms wound around his waist as his held me tight. As I inhaled his scent for the first time in so long I let out a small sob, tears spilling out of my eyes. I couldn't believe how this was happening…_how_ was this happening? I pulled back a tiny bit and looked up into his eyes; their usual bright spark wasn't as bright as it should have been. "I don't understand." He nodded understandingly and guided me to sit down on a nearby empty table, "You're supposed to be dead Stef. I've thought you were for almost _four_ years. And you're alive? How is that possible?"

He squeezed my hand as another tear spilt over; I found it reassuring to have him connected to me in some way, "What did they tell you?"

"That you'd been in a car crash…that the car had gone off the cliff. They said they hadn't found a body." I told him, sniffing as I spoke.

"Oh…I remember that." He told me with a small smile, another tear went at the sight of that smile I'd missed so much and I wiped my face roughly, "Well there was a car crash; you remember Tolly Finn? That agent?" I nodded, his body had been found in the car; I'd met him quite a few times, he'd always been very nice to us, "Well he was taking me to HQ for some reason, I can't remember. We were in the outskirts of London, crossing a bridge. I can't really remember what happened but a car rammed us from behind. Tolly stopped and got out, some of them came and dragged me out the car and I must have passed out somehow cos I don't remember anything else. Then I woke up and I was on a private plane to America with a load of strangers. They kept me in a cellar for a while somewhere in Washington; I have no idea why they kept me or stopped us in the first place; they never got any information out of me about anything. Maybe they refused to kill a 14 year old. I spent a year in that cellar; then they dumped me somewhere and I was picked up by some couple who were on a slow…very slow, road trip from Washington DC to here, they live here. It took a year. And that's it."

I let out a shaky sigh and nodded, trying to take that in, "Wow…this is so weird. Did they do anything to you? Hurt you or anything?"

"Well they beat me up a few times but that was nothing. I really don't know why I was there for so long. Does everyone think I'm dead?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah…yeah they do. I know that cos I've basically been mourning for the past four years." I told him with an underlying annoyance and he smirked. I sniffed and wiped my face again, "Where are you staying?"

"With the family; somewhere in the 05 district I think. They're kind; an old couple with grown up kids." He explained. "What are you doing here though? Is Jemma okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah she's fine. She got a job in New Zealand and gave me a choice between here or there. I didn't want to be too far away from home so I chose here; plus I already knew people here. And now I'm so happy I did choose here." He smiled, "You got any friends yet?" I smirked.

"No, I only just arrived. You?" he laughed quietly.

"Yeah; I've got those guys over there," I said, nodding towards Tyler, he raised an eyebrow in question, "One of them is Tyler, you remember him? My cousin?" he nodded, remembering, "Then that group over there." I said and he nodded again.

"Diverse."

I laughed, "Yep; they hate each other."

"I can imagine." He was smiling his huge old smile and I felt more tears in my eyes, but these were happy tears, "Stop crying 'Ronica..." he murmured, squeezing my hand again, out of the corner of my eye I saw Tyler, Felix, Weevil and Thumper stand up and make their way over.

"Yo, what's goin' on?" Tyler asked, looking at Stefan warily, "Why're you cryin' V?"

"Hey, I'm fine; you guys remember Stefan right?" I said with a small smile.

Tyler frowned, he'd met Stefan once before when we were younger and they'd come to England. I'd talked to him after I thought he'd died, "Ain't he de-?"

"No, he's alive." I said, pointing to him as proof.

"Oh, well…cool."

We said goodbye and they left. "We'll see them later, "I told him, "You want to meet the others? Come round after school and we can talk about _everything_." I smiled and he nodded. We stood up and made our way back to the 09er table. They all watched our approach, looking at me with concerned expressions; Logan looked confused as well. "Hey guys; this is my friend Stefan…from England. Stefan this is Lilly, Luke, Mac, Dick, Cassidy, Casey, Jackie, Wallace, Meg, Duncan and Logan."

"Hey, you okay V?" Logan asked, only sparing Stefan a quick glare.

"Yep, sit Stef." I commanded him and he sat opposite Logan with a smile. Lilly immediately involved him in a conversation and I laughed quietly, going back to my space with Logan.

"Why were you crying?" he whispered in my ear, taking hold of my hand under the table.

"I'll tell you later; long story."

"Okay, you sure you're alright?" I gave him a smile and a nod before looking back to my long lost friend; it was so unreal, his sudden reappearance. I was happy of course, so happy. But I couldn't contemplate the strangeness of it all. _How_ had this happened?


	10. Chapter 10

**VM again TEN**

I stuck with Stefan for the rest of the day, feeling slightly guilty as I hardly noticed anyone else. Logan was looking very jealous again and I threw him apologetic looks every now and again. But he had to understand that I hadn't seen Stefan in four years. Because I'd thought he was dead...they didn't know that though. They probably thought I was just happy because someone I hadn't seen in 'two' years had suddenly shown up.

When the bell rang for the end of the day I walked out to the Quad to meet him, spotting Logan by his massive car I walked over. "Hey, what's up?" I asked, studying his slightly annoyed face, I guessed, "Look, I'm sorry I didn't really talk to you today! But I haven't seen Stefan in _four_ years! You have _no idea _how much of a shock this is."

"I know that Veronica," he said, his voice stiff, not looking at me.

"Oh come on Logan, don't act all jealous about this." I sighed.

He frowned and looked up at the school, spotting something and his expression changed to his impassive face...not good. I looked around to see Stefan walking across the quad with Mac and Dick, laughing about something. He spotted us and waved, I smiled slightly before looking back at Logan. He shook his head slightly and opened the car door, "I'll see you round Veronica." He said, getting in and turning on the engine.

"Logan..." I sighed but he's already gone.

"You alright V?" Stefan asked cautiously, stopping beside me.

I frowned and forced a small smile, "I think he might have just broken up with me." he looked surprised. We'd been together for almost a year now and sure we'd had arguments, but however short and quiet this one was; it seemed different. "I dunno," This was such a frustrating situation! I wanted to go after Logan and talk to him but then I wanted to talk to Stefan and catch up on everything. He could see my silent debate and as usual, just like when we were growing up, he knew what to day.

"Go after him Ronnie; I'll come round later yeah? Text me." He said with a smile.

"Are you sure? I can see him later if you want...I'll feel bad leaving you."

"And if you leave him for too long he'll just get more pissed off. Go Ronnie!" He laughed, giving me a hug before heading to his car, a black Audi a5.

"Bye, sorry." I called before getting in my car and heading out of the parking lot, smiling at him as I passed. Once on the road I thought about where he'd go when he was pissed off. Maybe the beach or the Neptune Grand. Definitely not his parents house though; he'd never go there. I drove all the way along the beach, looking out for him. I saw no horrendous yellow cars or no Logan's there. So I turned round and headed for Neptune's most expensive hotel. I hadn't actually been into his room there before but I knew which number it was and which floor. I parked in the visitor's parking lot and headed up; sneaking past the reception area and jumping into the lift.

On the top floor I got out and walked down the corridor, checking door numbers until I reached number 257; the penthouse of course. Taking a deep breath I knocked...no answer. I knocked again...not answer. Letting out a sigh I turned and headed back to the lift, pressing the bell.

"Veronica." I heard him call from the door and turned, slightly surprised. His hair was wet from a shower and he too looked surprised.

"Hey...Just wanted to say sorry..." I told him, shrugging slightly and digging my hands into my hoodie pockets, "I know you're pissed off...my fault...so sorry." I was rambling, I knew I was rambling.

He frowned, "Where's the wonderful _Stefan_?" he asked coldly and I stared at him in shock, what was wrong with him!

"What the hell Logan! Why are you acting so jealous! I don't get it!" I found myself almost shouting, "Is it because I have a friend who you don't know about? Because he's a guy?"

"No." He said shortly.

"Then what? Please, enlighten me."

"It's because the minute he turned up I was totally invisible! You didn't even acknowledge me for the rest of the day! This sounds so fucking pathetic!" he seemed to shout the last bit at himself and I couldn't help but let out a quiet, slightly disbelieving laugh.

"Remember a few months ago, when I told you about my best friend? He died in a car crash?" He looked confused but nodded, "Stefan's my best friend." More confusion, "They never found his body...they figured it was lost in the river. They never suspected that he'd survived. That it _wasn't_ an accident; that someone had done it on purpose."

"What are you talking about Ronnie?"

"Can I come in please?" he looked around and seemed to realize we were both standing in the corridor about ten metres apart, he nodded and we both went in. My god...this place was nice. Huge...classy...not in any way homey...but nice. It wasn't tidy either; bottles, take-out food, menus, clothes; everything everywhere. He sat down on the white L-shaped sofa but I stayed standing, across the coffee table from him.

"I haven't told you...anything, practically; about my life from before I came here. I mean, it's not _that_ interesting but it's connected to all this." There was a permanent look of confusion on his face now, "I was a P.I...like my dad. I was quite good; caught loads of bad guys, got into a lot of shit very often but always managed to get out. Stefan did it with me; he was really good at it. We used to argue a lot because he'd never let me do the dangerous things. When we were 13, we were picked up at school by a big black car with tinted windows. All very mysterious as you can imagine. They were MI5...they wanted to, in their words, 'recruit' us." Now he looked shocked, "They trained us...a lot. It was painful work, "I laughed quietly, "But worth it. Of course we were too young to actually be agents but they were preparing us for when we were both 16. Of course then he supposedly died and I refused to do it alone. I couldn't do it alone."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this?" he asked quietly.

"It's not the type of thing I just go around telling everyone. And you never asked." I replied softly, "But back to the story. I don't know the everything about the day Stefan 'died'. But what I was told was that he'd been picked up by this agent called Tolly Finn, another car had rammed them from behind while they were crossing a bridge outside London. They stopped and Tolly got out, I don't know what happened but I guess they locked him in the boot, knocked Stef out cos he wouldn't go down easy...driven the car into the river. Tolly died; I know that. He was a good man. They never found Stef's body, as I said."

"So what you're saying is that you're an _MI6 agent_ whose best friend...also an agent, died...or supposedly died...then suddenly reappears four years later in the same small town in the _huge_ United States as you?"

I sighed, "Yes."

"Right then...so...thank for telling me." He said a bit hesitantly, clearly unsure of what he's meant to say.

"I shouldn't have. But I trust you." I shrugged and I noticed he smiled slightly.

"Well I trust you too...clearly not enough though. Sorry." I walked over and sat down beside him, about a metre between us. "So are we okay?"

I frowned slightly and glanced up at him, "Shouldn't I be asking that? I mean, I'm the one who's in the wrong here. And you're the one who, I think, broke up with me."

"I never broke up with you!" he genuinely sounded shocked.

"Didn't you?"

"Of course not! I'd never break up with you." He said, a small laugh in his voice.

I looked down and laughed quietly, "Aww...then we're great Echolls." I smiled, crawling over to him and pressing a kiss to his lips; he laughed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around me. I laid my head against his chest and sighed.

"Yes we are. Do you want to stay over tonight?" he asked, playing with my hair.

"I can't, keep calm; Stefan's coming over." I prepared myself for more arguing.

"Alright, maybe on the weekend."

I frowned, what? "Definitely babe, definitely."


	11. Chapter 11

**VM Mislaid Memories 11**

A/n: Aha! Here's the reason that Veronica hasn't (hadn't) been into Logan's room in the Grande, for **LateVMlover**. Baysucs, pretty simple and I should be embarrassed at how long it took me to think this up...'cos I have been thinking about it. Anyway...wait for it...he just got it.

I know, I know! It's incredible...the best excuse ever! And yes, I give you permission to copyright it any time you see fit, it _will_ complete the no doubt wonderful story that you are writing. I look forward to reading it.

Also, just in case some of you don't know what a BB is, it's a Blackberry...but you should really know that...BBM is messenger...which you should also know...

Holy Mac and Cheese! This is the rather long! Sorry for some of the longer paragraphs, I know how off-putting they can be... je suis tres desole...

I woke up late...again. Surprise surprise. I'd got home from Logan's at nine, then Stefan had come over and we'd just hung out until around midnight. We'd made a silent agreement to put off talking about the past four years all night, but then there was tomorrow...today.

It took me a few minutes of serenity, lying in my huge fluffy bed, before I realized exactly why I felt so happy. Stefan was alive. I let out a long sigh and smiled; my life was just about back to normal, back to being good. I had my best friend back, I had all my other friends, I had my aunt and cousins...but there was always someone missing...three someone's this time. My mum and dad for starters, then my other aunt...who I had to call...

I am so difficult to please.

With another sigh I rolled over and grabbed my BB off the bedside table, scrolling down the contacts until I got to her name. She picked up after five rings, "Hey hun,"

"Hey Jem, something crazy happened yesterday..." I told her quietly, somehow stopping myself from screaming it out in my joy.

"What? What happened?" she sounded worried and intrigued.

I pushed myself up and propped up against the headboard, pulling the duvet up around my knees, "Well we were all sitting on the quad yesterday at lunch and Lilly was telling me about this new guy. He was apparently absolutely gorgeous and like a Sex-God or something...her words."

"I bet Luke appreciated that." She laughed, clearly wondering why I was telling her this.

"He didn't seem to mind, although Logan didn't appreciate my faux-interest." I smiled, "Anyway, she suddenly pointed him out to me and I think I might have had a mini-heart-attack." I informed her, the smile on my face growing with each passing word.

"What do you mean? Who was it? Andrew Garfield? Rupert Grint? Alexander Skarsgǻrd's little brother? _Who?_" I laughed, just imagining my reacting if Alexander Skarsgǻrd walked onto the quad...phwoar...

"No, better than any of them..."

"Who the hell is better than Alexander Skarsgǻrd?" she scoffed and I laughed more.

"Stefan Moresly?"

Silence.

I heard her take a deep breath as I help my own, "What are you talking about Veronica? You know he's gone..."

"But he's not! I swear to you on my dad's memory, okay? He's alive...he's here. I don't know how and I don't know why, but he's alive Jemma...he's alive..." I bit my lip to stop the tears, happy tears. She had to believe me if I said that, sure I couldn't remember him clearly but my dad was still one of the most important people in my life; I wouldn't say that in vain.

She took another deep breath, clearly unsure of what to do or say, "He _can't_ be Ronnie...he _can't_! It's not possible." Her voice was wobbling and I knew she was close to tears.

"But he is...they never found his body...only Tolly's. Jemma, I know him better than anyone...apart from you...I know my best friend when I see him. And that was him yesterday; without a doubt." I wiped the tears from my eyes and took a long breath in.

"Ronnie..." she murmured, sniffing away the tears that were no doubt persisting down her face, "I can't believe this..." I laughed quietly, feeling exactly the same, "Stefan's alive. Oh my fucking _GOD! Stefan's alive!_" she literally screamed and I burst out in teary laughter. "I should come over...see him."

I hadn't seen her for a year now, she'd visited for the first Christmas but I hadn't seen her since and I really missed her. "That'd be great Jem. I'm sure he'd love to see you too; you're practically his mum."

"And yours." She sighed happily, "Jeez...you know how to brighten my day."

I laughed quietly, "I'm going to go see him later at the beach; we have a _lot_ to talk about. And I have a lot to understand. I'll call you again this evening or something, tell you everything."

"Okay, don't forget. And I'll definitely come over sometime in the next few weeks; I'll have to beg my boss though."

"Bring Alistair; I really want to meet this guy." They'd been together for a year and a half and from what I'd heard, he seemed lovely. I'd talked to him on the phone a couple of times and looked at his Facebook... (Ahem)...and he looked nice too. They'd moved in together a few months ago and I had the feeling that he might just pop _that_ question very soon.

"You will." She informed me, "I'll talk to you later love."

"Bye Jem."

"See ya V." I ended the call and stretched, feeling even better than before. It was a bit weird only ever talking to Jemma through the phone or Skype, especially since she had a Kiwi accent and I had a Californian one; our original British ones long gone.

I got out of bed and walked into the little kitchen, hopping a little on the cold tiles. I poured myself some coffee into the mug and took a sip; I'd always preferred black coffee to white, woke me up better...as it was meant to... After that I went back into my room and switched on my iPod speakers, smiling as Jessie J came on with Price Tag (what a guilty pleasure). Everything seemed good as I danced around my room, getting out my clothes. The sun was shining, the music was blasting...my best friend was...living? How to continue the rhyme?

I pulled on some denim short shorts and a navy long sleeve top with bold white horizontal stripes, then some make-up. Tyler and some of the others had stayed over at Javier's last night and Jamal was out at a friend's all day, then Lena was taking Tamsin out later and Rosie was working. So it was just me and the house. It was already midday and I was meeting Stefan at 1pm so I lay by the pool for a while and read a book. Bored, I left for the beach ten minutes early. Once there I sat and listened to my iPod while I waited.

As soon as I was settled I began to think...think about everything. Stefan had been supposedly 'dead' for four whole years now. According to him he'd been...well, I guess he'd been held hostage for a year, he'd said. Surely three years was long enough figure out where you were? Surely it was long enough to get to where you were meant to be? To get home. If he had been free for three years then what had he really been doing? I highly doubted that it took that long to get from Washington to here and I couldn't imagine that he'd really want to spend that long with a random elderly couple. Especially since their destination wouldn't offer him anything; it's not like Neptune meant anything to him. His only connection to it was me and my cousins. And if that _was_ why he came here, then surely it would have been so much easier to just get on a plane and come to England? I think that three years is enough to get the right amount of money. Although maybe he didn't have a passport?

But then, again...why would he come here? And something was telling me that he didn't come here to get home. I mean, the shock when he saw me here. Then there's the fact that he even enrolled at Neptune High; why would he do that? Here, of all places.

"Ronnie," I jumped slightly at his voice and his hand on my shoulder, being ripped out of my doubtful thoughts. The subject of those thoughts grinned at me and I smiled back. He sat down next to me, "So what were you thinking about? Looked serious."

I pulled out my headphones and wrapped them carefully around the iPod before sliding into my pocket, "Tell me everything; in detail. Start with four years ago, when Tolly picked you up." I said, the smile gone from my face, replaced with a frown. He noted the seriousness and copied.

"Okay...I won't remember absolutely everything though." I shrugged and he started, "Right, so I got home from school, well not home...I got to the lovely orphanage. The Crazy Lady called me into her office and in there I found Tolly Finn." I smiled at the nickname for the old lady who ran the orphanage; she really was crazy; used to do Tai Chi on the doorstep. "He said he had to take me to HQ for some reason; he never got to tell me why though. We were near the outskirts of London, crossing that small bridge over the Thames, you know the one? Towards Kew." I nodded, slightly confused at the round-a-bout route. "Before you ask, I can't figure out the reason behind that route either. Anyway, just as we were crossing the bridge, there'd been two big SUV's following us and one of them rammed us from behind. Tolly stopped, got out and was about to shout at them but they just shot him straight in the head. I couldn't exactly do anything, it's not like I could run or jump into the water. Besides, they were already almost at my door and they had guns. They opened my door, threw me out onto the road. I watched them throw Tolly's body into the boot and then I guess they drove the car into the river; they knocked me out before that. And they didn't say anything through all of that apart from some orders.

"When I came round, I was sat at the back of a very noisy plane between a woman with a screaming baby and some massive goon; he looked like a fucking sumo-wrestler!" I laughed quietly, a funny picture in my mind's eye, "When we landed, I had no clue where we were. The sumo-wrestler guy stuck with me as we went through security, pushing me around and always keeping a hold on me to make sure I didn't run off. Clearly he was one with those anonymous kidnappers. I quickly figured out we were at an airport in Montana somewhere. As soon as we got out of the airport though he threw a bag over my head and threw me in a van." He thought for a minute, remembering everything. I watched his eyes closely as he relayed the events to me, everything I was taught about interrogations kicking in, "I think I passed out again, and then when I woke up I was in a dark and cold room; just like every other hostage film." I noted that he refused to look me in the eye most of the time, "They left me there for a while; a few days maybe. Then came in and started to talk, telling me roughly what they wanted."

"And what was that?" I asked, frowning.

"Wouldn't you love to know." He smirked, "They beat me up a few times as I said, tried to get me to tell them things about the agency, other agents and even you a bit. They wanted to know why MI5 would recruit two teenagers...not even teenagers."

"What did you tell them?"

He shrugged and began picking at his thumb, something he used to always do when he was lying...instant give away that, "Nothing...that I didn't know; cos really we don't do we?" I nodded, wondering why he would be lying to me. "Anyway, they kept me there for probably just under a year, then let me go." He looked up and to the left, remembering...fabricating more like, "They left me in Helena, Montana...I found a bus station with a MacDonald's next to it and went in. I didn't have much money but bought myself a burger," he grinned, he'd always loved MacDonald's burgers, "I was eating, looking like a beat up tramp, that's when this older couple come over and start talking to me...they were nice. Offered me a ride somewhere and I took them up. Three years later and here I am."

I nodded, forcing a smile while still analysing that speech in my head, "What are their names?" I asked quickly, looking him in the eye.

I noted the falter and the slight hesitation, "...the Jones', Molly and Samuel." He looked a little uncertain but covered it well.

He was definitely lying, I continued to watch him, and he seemed uncomfortable under my scrutiny, pulling his sleeves over his hands and playing with them; refusing to catch my eye. "Why are you lying to me Stefan?" I asked evenly.

His head whipped up and he frowned in confusion, "What are you talking about? I'm not lying!"

"Then why are you getting so defensive?"

"I'm not! Why don't you believe me?" he asked, feigning hurt like a pro.

I continued to watch him, not looking him right in the eye, "You say you met these 'Jones'' in Montana?" he nodded; barely registering that he'd made a mistake in his story. "But yesterday you met them in Washington...how does that work?" His eyes widened slightly at this revelation but, once again, he covered well, "Let me guess...a year of being held hostage affected your knowledge of basic geography...I mean, Montana _is_ Washington, right?" I said in the blondest (a/n: no offence ) voice I could muster.

He didn't know what to say, clearly, his mouth was open to speak and his eyes were silently pleading mine to leave it be, "Just a mistake Ronnie, honest mistake." What an excuse.

I raised an eyebrow and stood up; he did so too, staying where he was while I walked a few metres away. "I'm going to ask you this again: why are you lying to me...Stefan." He was silent for a few minutes, unable to answer. I let out a frustrated sigh and spun to face him, "You're my best friend Stefan! We grew up together! You're like my _brother_! And you're _lying to me_! I just want to know why!" I was shouting but I didn't register it.

"What if I'm not lying though? What if it was just an honest mistake?"

I sighed again, shaking my head slightly, "Okay, let's go at this a different way. You say you've been free for about three years?" he nodded, "And you've spent those years with this random old couple, on a slow roadtrip to Neptune, California; not exactly a landmark." He was starting to look a little unsure now. I thought for a minute, "I truly, _cannot,_ imagine that you'd want to spend three _whole_ years with those people...but hey, I haven't met them; I'm sure they're absolutely lovely."

He was frowning, seeming somewhere between hurt, angry and confused, "Whoa...am I getting this right? I'm missing for four years, you think I'm dead...then when I come back you think I'm _lying_ to you? What is this?"

I flung my arms out, "I don't know Stefan! I don't know!" I yelled back at him, I took a deep breath to calm the bursts of anger coming out, "You've been gone for _four_ years, Stefan...I've thought you were_ dead_ for _four years_! You're my best friend in the world; always have been. So I was _mourning_ for those four years because _I _thought _you_ were _dead_! Jemma thought you were dead...we _all_ thought you were dead. That we'd never see you again! And you have no idea how much that hurt!"

"Well it wasn't much different for me you know? I was held fucking hostage for a _year_! And I thought that I really _was_ going to die! You really think that I wasn't missing you too? Are you really _that_ dum?" he shouted back. Our screaming match was attracting a little attention from other beach-goers; many watching warily as Stefan's arms flew around as he shouted. To them he'd look like some huge guy shouting at a tiny blonde 09er, who is, of course, innocent. Wrong impressions.

"No...no I'm not really that dum. Although, being 'dead' I did think it would be difficult for you to think of me." I replied a little quieter, "But then you're suddenly alive and I'm..." struggling for a word that amounts to the joy, "_ecstatic_...about it. For a while. _Then_ I start to think about it, I start analysing it in my head." My hands make jerking movements, trying to get the meaning across, "I can't _stop_ analysing it." I'm not looking at him but know there's a frown on his face, "I don't understand..."

"What? What don't you understand?" he asked quickly.

I sighed, looking him in the eye, "I love you Stefan, and you know that; you're like my brother and my best friend. And I always thought that was mutual..." now he looked shocked at what I was saying, he opened his mouth to interrupt but I held up a hand to stop him, "But if it was...then I _genuinely_...don't understand, how you could let me think you were dead for four years. I couldn't do that to you...I've never _been_ in that situation but I _know_ I couldn't have done that." He had a pained expression now, like he wanted to make it stop but didn't know how, "And what makes it worse...what makes it worse is that you had three years where you could have stopped that pain. You were free...you could have come home...but you didn't." I took a deep breath, unsuccessfully trying to hold back the tears and the break in my voice, "Analysing...I made all sorts of excuses...you didn't have the money. You didn't have a passport. You _couldn't _get home. But in three years you could easily get the right money, get a passport...Or! Go to the police! Simple! Tell them everything and you'd be home."

"Ronnie..." he began, a quiet and sad tone, "It wasn't that simple..."

"Naturally."

He took a small step forwards, "No, it wasn't. They'd kept me for a year, I made a deal with them to let me go." I looked up at him in surprise, "I was free to go as long as I never went to the police or any other authority. As long as I never told anyone who they were or what they'd done or what happened on the bridge. I just wanted to get out of there, I didn't really think of the implications."

"Fine...you couldn't go to the police, but you could still get home. Stefan, if you'd _really_ wanted to you could have come home...you _should _have but you didn't."

He shook his head slightly, "I did want to Ronnie...I wanted to get back to you and Jemma; I was trying! I was."

"Alright, but why were you in Neptune then? If you were trying so hard to get back, why would travel across a whole continent in the wrong direction? That doesn't make sense to me."

"I was heading to Mexico; I heard it was a good way to get out of the country undetected. That way I could get back to England sans passport hopefully." I suppose that was logical, but once again there was something stopping me from believing him.

Letting out a sigh I crossed my arms loosely over my stomach, "Okay, that's true." He smiled slightly, gratefully, not quite reaching his eyes. The smile disappeared when I spoke again, "But if that was the case; if you _had_ a way home and you were _almost_ there...why would you enrol at Neptune High? ...What? You wanted to complete your education? I know we always talked about how we wanted to spend a 'semester' in an American High School, just to see what it was like...but I must say the timing was a little unusual." He grimaced slightly, I was picking up on everything, "You must really like these 'Jones'' if you wanted to stay with them for so long."

"No, it's not like that Ronnie..."

"Then what is it like?" Voice rising again.

He let out a frustrated groan and held out his hands in an almost surrender-type gesture, "Believe it or not I enrolled to _help_ me get back to you! I knew you're cousins lived here, I figured if I found Taylor or whatever his name is, I could get a message through to you." He was breathing heavily from the high emotions and shouting, "But of course you wouldn't believe that because you're not believing a fucking word I say." I watched his eyes again as he yelled at me, he wasn't lying about this.

"Can you blame me? That there was about the only half-convincing thing you've said. So among all the bullshit, the truth will shine out." I sighed, "Stefan, I can safely say that we've both changed _a lot_ in the past four years. You've been kidnapped, I thought my brother was dead...all that. We're not the same people anymore, and we always knew we'd both change but we always thought we'd do that together; know every stage of each other's growing up. But we didn't, and now I don't think we really know each other anymore..." I bit my lip, a tear escaping from my eye. I glanced up at him, a little fearful or his reaction. He looked sad; sad and hurt, but also like he understood. We stood in silence for a minute or two, neither knowing exactly what to do or say.

I didn't want to break the silence; it felt like we were at the eye of a storm. All those problems and lies whirling around us, but only outside our bubble; when the silence was broken, the pin would touch down...they'd all flow in, slipping between us...pulling us apart. There'd be too much in the middle, too much unsaid and too many issues for us to find each other again.

I hated that I had to be that pin...

Taking a deep breath first, I spoke, "So this is it then..." Simple...painful.

"Yeah..." he murmured,

I sniffed away another tear, "You should have come home Stefan." I whispered, "You should have come home..." And with that I let the troubles separate us; I turned and walked away.

Words: 3,687

Hope you liked it, thanks loads to **.-OCD **and even more to** lateVMlover :D **

Bt dubs, I know Montana to Mexico isn't crossing a whole continent...I'm English but I do roughly know the layout of America...confusing as it may be.

Also! What _are_ you thinking? Please!Please review! They really do help me! And they motivate me to actually write so if you want more...you know what to do...

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